I am a weird, vulture like stingy foreigner

This morning The Telegraph published a piece titled “My late night supermarket shopping saves me £2,800 a year”. As we are featured in this piece it was only natural for me to visit the online version of it and have a peak at the comments… now I wish I hadn’t done it. Actually this isn’t true. I think it was fine to visit and even the reading of it, but I should have never engaged and definitely never replied to some of them. I guess it was an impulse and when you find yourself under attack you are naturally overcome with an urge to defend yourself… how silly of me…

The piece was supposed to relay that you can save money by smart shopping. It looks like some people who cared enough to comment didn’t actually care enough to read the article fully or simply took it in a different way than what was intended.

The first attack was on my job. One guy thought that being a self-employed online moderator is so redundant that it actually makes me jobless. Someone else thought that I am probably hoping to secure in time a nice, well paid, lots-of-holidays, public sector job with all the trimmings – the mirror-image of self-employment. Really? Why people are so quick to project their own dreams or hopes on to others? I would hate to work for someone, especially in the public sector… as to trimmings? What trimmings? Being stuck in a cubicle 9 till 5?

Yet another person had decided that my lifestyle of frugal shopping makes me a sad personality. Quite the opposite, in my humble opinion, it makes me happy and gives me more money to spend elsewhere.

Someone else suggested that I should get a life? I actually have one and I am very proud of it.

One guy actually called me a vulture… how bizarre! I wonder if Mr. Seank knows what vultures are and what they do. I don’t actually scavenge, I pick food from the shelves just like he does I assume… the only difference is that I know which shelf to pick my food from and more specifically what time of the day I should go shopping in order to get a better bargain.

It’s sad that some people can be so narrow-minded. It’s seems it is so much easier to criticize something than to actually try and understand it. I was told that bargain shopping is not very British, maybe this is why so many people wouldn’t do it or even consider doing it… stuck with being an old stereotype or maybe just too proud to grab those good bargains is just plain silly in my mind.

There was also a comment suggesting that maybe if I work harder I would be able to afford full priced food… this was actually a funny one… I never said I can’t afford it, I simply chose to shop this way. Saving money on my food shopping, or any form of shopping come to that; leaves me with more money, and sometimes with some money to spend on other stuff. Not only this, it also gives me in most cases better quality food. A good percentage of reduced food at the end of the day comes from the finest or the organic selection, they are usually the most expensive ones and often unsold… so please explain to me why would I chose a shop value type of food (like some other comments suggested) over reduced but much higher quality products that are still in date at the time of my purchase? I simply don’t see any logic in this. And let’s face it, most labels on the food products have very little to do with its usability, they are there to empower buying power, they are there to prey on the lack of knowledge of the masses, they are simply there to make you buy more or at least more often.

I have learnt the meaning of labels and I have great understanding on how long my food will actually last before getting spoiled. I covered it earlier in my “7 Top Tips How to Reduce Food Waste” post.

I am not ashamed of my shopping style. I am actually proud of it and I have no inclination whatsoever to apologies for it.

I just feel sorry for all those people out there who failed to understand it.

People don’t have to agree with me and they for sure don’t have to follow my steps but I do think that before posting a comment or reply the individual should at least try to understand the piece and the meaning behind it. For no other reason than it will help them to form a non vitriolic and informed opinion to their replies. I also consider the other angle to this situation and that is that these foods if unsold will just be destroyed. There is no option under our law of donating it somewhere; it will not go to anyone who might actually really need it. If no one will buy it, it will go to the bin; in my opinion that is the greatest tragedy, that is a shame!

This whole comment situation had me bouncing of the walls most of the morning. It reminded me of The West Wing and The U.S. Poet Laureate episode when Josh posted a reply on Lemon-Lyman.com, which started a series of troubles. C.J.Cregg had a great came back to this whole commenting malarkey: The people on these sites: they’re the cast of One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest.

But there is always a silver lining. I’ve received a lovely email from Raphael who decided to write to me after seeing all the abuse some people gave me. Thank God we are not all the same. I am glad there are still a few people around who are full of civility and human compassion.

Philogenes wrote to me as a reply to one of my comments: You must know by now that most commenters aren’t interested in the facts, just their own opinions! …I didn’t know it but now I do. Lesson learnt. I was actually under the impression that if someone, as I regularly do, decides to leave a comment it will be meaningful and on topic… I was wrong, epic fail!

So, what do you think?

Am I a weird, vulture like stingy foreigner?

Can my way of shopping really be offensive to some?

Was the published piece really a reason for so much negativity?

And just to clear something else. I didn’t get paid for this feature. I didn’t do it for the money or for the fame (as suggested by yet another “friendly” comment). I have had my 15 minutes of fame with other articles published in various newspapers across the country and my own recipe on a billboard… I am not hungry for more, believe me. I agreed to do it in order to show some people another way, a way of saving a few pennies (and sometimes pounds) and having something to show for it. I hoped that maybe this feature would encourage some people to be more savvy when food shopping. I simply wanted to do something good, is that really so bad?

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24 thoughts on “I am a weird, vulture like stingy foreigner”

Haters gonna hate! I used to get a portion of abuse from anonymous commentators from Poland for being a traitor (just because I post in two languages it makes me a traitor to my values and heritage). Can’t understand some people especially those behind the screen – slagging others off for absolutely no reason! And I have my smart shopping methods too! Few people I work with and follow my blog often ask for advice so I’m glad some people value their money! As you said in your post – I can afford normal (often pricey) shopping but what’s the point? If I can save money with shopping smart and spend it on anything else but food?!

I think you were right at the start when you said you shouldn’t have read the comments. I think people like to have a dig, to find something to criticise so I would say shake it off and do what you continue to do brilliantly!

I’d be disappointed if you weren’t a little bit weird, lol, but you are right to be proud of your savvy shopping, you are reducing waste and saving money, and that takes far more effort than just grabbing the first thing you see to buy. It’s a sad fact that some people trawl newspaper websites to find a spot for their nasty comments. I don’t think your the one that needs to get a life somehow!

They are just trolls who have a very unhappy and sad life themselves. I think it’s weird that people spend their time going through newspaper articles just to make nasty comments at the end. Just for the record nothing much comes into this house unless it was reduced or on offer!

I think that people feel that as you are an online name they can just be as rude as they want. I have had some horrendous comments to some media work I have done. It is horrible. I think that the way you shop is ace

Guess what? I will try to shop your way, because I like the idea to save some money what I can spend for some extra’s. Don’t be sad about such bad comments, some people want to see only bad things and they enjoy it to slag people without a reason. And if you save87 people from fire, there would be this notorious naggers who would comment: yeah… but one of the 87 people lost his shoe…

Thanks Easy. I am just sad that instead of thinking about food waste or money savings people will pick up on my job or a nationality which has nothing to do with the issue in hand… being spiteful for no reason makes me angry and I will never understand it 🙁

I must admit I’ve always avoided this callout for newspaper articles, partly because of being potentially misrepresented and also because of reaction like this. To be honest they are the sad ones if they have nothing better to do than have a go at someone they don’t know especially as you say it’s usually obvious they haven’t read the article. Best to ignore.

Great post indeed! My husband love to shop online during discount sales and seasonal sales. I think this would help a lot to save money and you can buy some branded items almost 50% cheaper than its actual cost. Planning and choosing the best is the simple way to shop whether it is online or in shopping malls.

I personally have never been in an article or in any situation as you have but I can understand where you’re coming from in terms of the responses. I always try to ignore them but it gets a bit difficult at times. Like you mentioned that some probably didn’t read the article and just wanted to say something. What you wanted to come out of the article, I hope did reach the intended readers.

Very interesting read, infact I have learnt something new todayd.. Guess what I am going to try this to save some bucks myself and spent it on those shoes I have been wanting for ages. Who are these people who judge? Aren’t we all free to choose a lifestyle of our liking? I think its a great idea! You rock.

I’m not living in Britain, so I can’t speak to the cultural norms there. Very common to shop the “bargain bin” here in The Deep South of the US though. To each his own, sorry that they tore you to pieces in the comments!